The Consensus: We May Be Getting Too Much Bisphenol A (BPA) but There’s a Lot of Uncertainty

BPA is a chemical used in a lot of plastics production, and it has been demonstrated to be what’s known as an endocrine disruptor, which is basically a chemical that can cause problems for the endocrine system. Most people are exposed to it either through eating products that have been stored in BPA-containing plastics, or by heating food in a microwave using a container that has high levels of BPA.

Like most endocrine disruptors, BPA can impact hormones, and has been associated with metabolic disorders like diabetes as well as potential developmental problems that link to growth in children. Dr Harry Mackay from the Baylor College of Medicine writes on Metafact: “it’s better to be safe than sorry and there’s clear evidence that BPA is an endocrine disruptor that can have negative effects in a variety of model systems”.

There is still some debate around how much of these health impacts are due to BPA, but it’s generally accepted that we should limit our intake of the chemical if possible. Based on this, agencies around the world have set legal limits on the amount of BPA that can be used in a variety of products that are used to store things we eat or drink, such as plastic bottles. These limits are broadly adhered to by the community, which is why some scientists argue that there are no risks from BPAs at our current levels of exposure – as Rex Fitzgerald, from the Swiss Centre for Applied Toxicology put it: “Most of the regulatory agencies say that current levels of exposure are safe”.

However, some studies have identified risks even at intakes below those used to set the thresholds for international standards. While the European Food Safety Authority set a safe limit of 0.05mg/kg body weight (which has been reviewed twice and reaffirmed), some scientists argue that we should lower this threshold to be safe.

Because of this, the argument is not so much whether we should be exposed to BPA at all – everyone agrees that there is a ‘safe’ level of exposure – it’s more about how much BPA we should have. In general, the scientific consensus is that we are being exposed to a bit too much BPA, but even here there is some disagreement. Some argue that the safe limits should be lowered significantly, while some say that there’s not necessarily any negative effects at the current cut-off, but we could be more careful given the range of the exposure.

Overall, if we go by the international standard, we are probably not being exposed to too much BPA in our foods. However, these standards can lag behind scientific research, and many scientists argue that they should be lowered to make sure that we aren’t being harmed, especially considering that we know that BPA can cause issues for children.

Based on international food standards, we are not being exposed to too much BPA. However, a growing number of scientists argue that these standards are overly generous, and we may in fact be harmed by amounts of BPA lower than the international recommendations allow.